The Next morning
Elena didn't remember touching the mirror. She only remembered waking up.
The floor was cold. Her clothes were damp with condensation. The journal lay beside her, the pages blank again. No ink. No messages.
She sat up slowly.
The octagonal room was gone.
She was back in the main corridor.
Something was wrong.
The hallway was too clean. The lights are too bright. The air smelled of lemon disinfectant and fresh wiring. The old facility's scent of rust and mildew was missing.
"Elena?"
She turned.
Davis stood behind her clean-shaven, uniformly crisp. He smiled, warm and confused.
"You okay? You blacked out. Reznik sent me to find you."
Blackout?
She looked around. Everything was... reset. Restored.
The rusted pipes gleamed. The monitors flickered with stable power. There was even music playing faintly over the intercom old jazz.
"What year is it?" she asked suddenly staring at Davis.
Davis frowned. "2025. Same as yesterday. Are you hurt?"
No snow. No creaking metal. No, Sarah. No Karpov. The mirror door of Room 313 was sealed again, its welds untouched.
"Where's Sarah Adler?"
"Sarah?" Davis looked confused. "There's no one on this mission named Sarah."
Elena's blood ran cold.
She ran to the lab, ignoring Davis's shouts. Threw open the records file. The mission manifest had changed. Only four names now.
Davis. Reznik. Karpov.
And Elena.
No, Sarah. No journal. No files on Mirror 313.
Everything had been erased.
No—replaced.
*
That night, Elena stared at herself in the bathroom mirror.
She touched her cheek. Her reflection did the same. Perfectly synchronized.
But she didn't feel like herself.
There were gaps in her memory. Things she should remember about childhood, smells, favorite songs—just gone. Replaced by vague impressions.
And the reflection?
Smiling. Just a second too late.
The door creaked open behind her. It was Davis.
"You've been acting strange," he said, stepping inside. "Reznik's worried."
Elena turned to face him. "Do you trust me?"
He hesitated. "Of course."
She stepped forward. "Then look in the mirror."
He did.
And Davis's reflection didn't move.
He screamed.
The lights burst.